Flying: Full Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

Burns captures something rare in contest repertoire: pure musical joy that doesn't rely on bombast or complexity to move an audience. Winning the 2001 ASTA/NSOA Composition Contest validates what your students will feel the moment they open the parts—this is music written by someone who understands how to make a full orchestra sound brilliant without demanding virtuosity beyond Grade 3.5 reach.

Weightlessness and velocity combined. The music lifts off the ground early and sustains that upward trajectory with shimmering textures and bright harmonic motion, creating the acoustic equivalent of breaking through clouds into open sky. It's excitement that never feels frantic.

Orchestras at the intermediate level looking for a high-impact concert piece that energizes both performers and audience. This work suits groups building confidence in larger ensemble sound and looking for contest or festival programming with genuine musicality behind it.

• Balance the melodic line across sections so the soaring quality feels effortless rather than strained; the piece breathes best when no single voice dominates.
• Keep tempo steady and buoyant throughout; rhythmic precision in the accompaniment patterns anchors the sense of upward momentum.
• Shape phrases with dynamic clarity, letting crescendos build gradually rather than in sudden jumps, so the ascending sensation feels natural and prolonged.

Open a concert with this to set an optimistic tone, or program it mid-set as a palate cleanser between heavier works. At under six minutes, it moves quickly and leaves audiences smiling without overstaying its moment.

• Balancing multiple melodic layers within a full orchestral texture
• Sustaining forward momentum across extended phrases
• Responding to conductor cues for unified dynamic shaping
• Playing with pitch precision in divisi passages